Why does this guide exist? Well, because sometimes it can be a little hard to find all of the information, and I know of no place that you can go to find it all in a single spot. Hopefully this guide will help explain various aspects of Atlantica Online, and help you enjoy this excellent game more. Also, please keep in mind that I won't be going into detail on any one section. This is more of an overview than an in-depth guide. Partially because I want to keep this short enough that it will be read, and partially because I'm not arrogant enough to think I know everything there is know about this game.

PvP or PvE?

While this isn't even really a choice until you hit level 20, you do need to keep in mind the difference between PvP and PvE. PvP, or Player vs Player, refers to the Free Leagues (FL) and the Weekly Competition. PvE, or Player vs Environment, refers to fighting the various monsters in the game. A party build that works great for PvE might not work so well against PvP, and a PvP build might have some trouble in the questing areas. Also keep in mind that until level 50, you won't have a full party and that will hurt your ability to progress in the Free Leagues. I am not a PvP'er, I only participate in the FL causally, and don't really care if I win or lose. If you want advice or help on this part of the game, you'll have to search elsewhere.

Your Party

In Atlantica Gold, you control a group of mercenaries. You'll always have your Hero, plus up to eight other mercs with you to fight the evil monsters. So what are you're options? Meet the Heroes:

Sword - Single attack, melee
Spear - Single attack, with a line attack skill, melee
Bow - Single attack anywhere, ranged
Staff - Single attack, ranged
Axe - Hits adjacent enemies, melee
Gun - hits all enemies in a line, ranged
Musician - Line attack

Meet the starting Mercs

For your starting mercenaries, you have the option of choosing Swordsman, Spearman, Archer, and Gunner while in the very small starting area. After you leave the starting area, that choice expands to include the Shaman. You can never have a Musician as a merc, that one is main only.